Homelessness And Mental Illness: LA version (San Diego, Burbank: insurance, school, place to live)

[erin_elise_]

hey again.

as i much as it pains me to discuss this topic, I feel this needed to be said.

with the growing homeless issue around the country, it is obviously especially felt in L.A. for various reasons. obviously, LA has become a bastion of homelessness centered around Skid Row and other areas.

the court system has done nothing to curb the problem, and we residents are left to deal with this complex issue.

does one remember about 30 years ago, when people could be committed to mental hospitals without their permission? well as draconian as some might perceive that, I feel that something along those lines needs to happen again. The outpatient mental services is not working, which is the system we moved to after.

It is reported that nearly 50% of all homeless suffer from mental illness. Can someone please tell me how that is not a large threat to public safety and health? If it is, then measures need to be taken. How can a civilized society allow these circumstances to worsen for our cities. And especially here in LA, which is a popular, sought out destination for homelessness "containment".

If fact, it is even documented that other cities actually SEND their homeless to L.A. The councilman for the downtown district admitted that, and I was watching a video on the homeless in San Diego, and it was said that they send theirs homeless away on a bus. (I wonder to where?)

Well yes, I know this is a sensitive topic, but something practical must be done. How can we as residents "help" people out of homelessness if they are mentally incapacitated? They need treatment. If not, then this issue will persist and it will become more commonplace to see tents and encampments spring up all around our communities, as they are doing now.

[bpeeps]

This is not the answer we are looking for. You just can't commit someone to a mental institute without thinking about their rights, the cost, who's paying for it, and the space. See the prison system for example.

[UKWildcat1981]

Sadly jails have become full of homeless people, its pretty much illegal to be homeless now and Cops always harass the homeless.

[erin_elise_]

Originally Posted by bpeeps

This is not the answer we are looking for. You just can't commit someone to a mental institute without thinking about their rights, the cost, who's paying for it, and the space. See the prison system for example.

the outpatient mental health system is not working.

what are the ways that we can safeguard society AND give them the treatment they need.

of course, rights at issue, that's why we balance the rights.

serving food and inviting people to sleep on cots does not improve many homeless people's situations in the long term. That is a short term fix. Many need long term help.

And we can start to pay for it by changing the outpatient mental health system that we have.

[UB50]

From what I see around here, a lot of the homeless are not mentally ill. They just don't have a place to live. You can see a lot of them walking the streets all night. I have no idea where or when they sleep.

There are no shelters in Burbank. What are the homeless supposed to do? Where are they supposed to go?

Also, a lot of them are older so it's hard to say "get a job" and think that that's going to fix it.

[UB50]

If you ever go downtown and get a chance to see who's lining up for food/cots at the missions, it can be a real eye-opener. A lot of the people are pretty clean cut and look like they have jobs.

I saw one guy once, about 6'2", blond, well-built, clean cut (could have been ex-military) -- looked like the guy who could have been "your insurance agent" -- with all of his stuff in a push cart (which was the only way to tell he was homeless, really). When you see people like that homeless, it changes your perception of things.

Twice I've seen people with no hands. One was a man who obviously lost his hands in a fire. The other was a woman who was with a group of homeless women and they were very protective of her. What kind of society leaves these people to the streets?

We need more homeless housing. What we are doing now isn't working.

[BeatAngMoh]

I think a lot of homeless become mentally ill rather than the other way around. If you had to stay on the streets hungry for a week I think your state of mental being starts to get altered. I give some money and have on occasion given food I just bought to most homeless people I come across if they approach me. From what I've seen most people just ignore them as if they don't exist. Imagine walking around homeless, hungry and knowing society doesn't acknowledge you.

[MordinSolus]

Some of the mentally imbalanced homeless people really do need to be forcefully committed. The safety and well being of society at large has to be weighed against the freedoms of crazy people.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by erin_elise_

How can we as residents "help" people out of homelessness if they are mentally incapacitated? They need treatment. If not, then this issue will persist and it will become more commonplace to see tents...

One of the most well known cases in L.A., a homeless man who was a former Julliard student who suffered from schizophrenia and had to drop out of school, and his friendship with columnist Steve Lopez, who tried to help him. Homelessness and mental illness are very complex problems.
The Real Story Behind 'The Soloist' : NPR

[UB50]

Originally Posted by MordinSolus

Some of the mentally imbalanced homeless people really do need to be forcefully committed. The safety and well being of society at large has to be weighed against the freedoms of crazy people.

Some of them are crazy. When they really are crazy, and not just depressed or anxious, they should be forcefully committed.